Yemeni civilians trapped as Saudi ramps up attacks on Hudaydah

Thousands of civilians are trapped in Yemen’s Hudaydah as Saudi Arabia and allies step up their attacks to invade the port city.

According to Press TV, backed by air power from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates invasion force have been pushing to seize the Duraihami District, which lies adjacent to southern Hudaydah.

The Saudi-led invasion mounted a new offensive in Duraihami on Tuesday, two days after laying a siege to the heavily-populated area.

Local reports said the area is being constantly targeted by Saudi-led airstrikes, rocket attacks, artillery and an ongoing ground offensive.

The Ansarullah defenders say the Saudi-led coalition has been indiscriminately targeting civilians.

"The aggressor’s mercenaries are attacking the city randomly and they have destroyed houses and killed civilians inside them," a Yemeni defender in Hudaydah told Middle East Eye news portal.

"The airstrikes killed dozens of civilians in Duraihami and they are still targeting civilians, while Ansarallah are fighting face-to-face on the ground," he added.

While authorities are trying to cope with a severe shortage of food and medicines due to the Saudi siege, the attacks have also crippled internet coverage across the region, making it almost impossible for residents to contact the outside world.

“There are some people that have bled to death [in the street] and no one dared to help them because of the clashes. Some corpses have decayed in the streets,” one resident said when reached by MEE.

Local health officials told MEE that airstrikes and rocket attacks on Duraihami had killed “dozens” of civilians but the extent of casualties was unknown.

Human Rights Watch says the Saudi-led coalition has conducted scores of “indiscriminate and disproportionate air strikes” hitting civilian objects that have killed thousands of civilians “in violation of the laws of war”, with munitions that the US, United Kingdom, and others still supply.